The relationship between
aluminium plants and local emergency management services cannot be understated.
Some of our larger plants have employ their own fire departments on their
property. But, even those plants have had incidents that required outside
assistance. Regardless of your plant size you must develop a working
relationship with your local emergency management system. Here is a recent
story;
Staff at the Mandeville Fire Station are foreseeing
risks for residents as amid further resource constraints, stakeholders prepare
for the reopening of the Alpart aluminium plant in Nain, St Elizabeth, Jamaica.
The Alpart plant is expected to resume refining
operations in the 2016-2017 financial year, as was disclosed by Minister of
Transport and Mining Mike Henry during his contribution to the 2016 Sectoral
Debate in the House of Representatives on June 8.
Following the refinery's closure in 2009, the plant
was reopened on a reduced production schedule in 2010.
The acting deputy superintendent for the Manchester
division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, indicated that while serving the parishes
of St Elizabeth, Clarendon,
St Ann, Trelawny, and Manchester, the fire service
encounters severe constraints daily. He noted that urgency was needed to
improve the quality of resources available.
"Currently, with what exists, we are seriously
challenged. The parish of Manchester is so geographically divided that travel
time from Mandeville town centre to the farthest points is seriously impacted.
The Alpart plant falls between us and the Junction fire station. Even though it
is in St Elizabeth, we cover borders," he said as he addressed journalists
during a Gleaner Jobs and Growth Forum that was held recently at the Mandeville
Hotel.
"We are fortunate to have for the past three
months, two working pumpers, and we are going through a restructuring process
in the service. However, Manchester needs at least two more fire stations. We
need a fire station out at Newport (Manchester) and we need one in the Mile
Gully (Manchester) area to adequately cover the Manchester area and to serve
its environs," he continued.
The superintendent further stated that "now with
all of these plans and the infrastructural development, in addition to the
influx of people, lives will be at risk. We are talking about the roadways
becoming more congested, possibility of more motor vehicle accidents and Alpart
itself bringing a whole new dimension."
The acting deputy superintendent stressed that access
to water, in addition to several other facilities, was needed to get the
station to a satisfactory level.
"We are first responders to anything and all of
these things, with the limited resources, will be seriously challenged. We
ourselves are seriously challenged from the point of workspace. In service
training, we don't have the space. Advanced life support services for our staff
are things that are needed," he declared.
"Access to water is very serious. You will pass
a lot of fire hydrants, but there is no water in them because the water system
is not favourable. We would love for a water tank to be placed specifically at
the Mandeville station. When we respond to incidents, we just go to cool down
because these persons would have lost everything by the time we got there. It
takes an hour and 20 minutes to get to some locations."
This plant was recently sold.
We hope and pray that the concerns of the local fire brigade are made to the
new owners and a meeting can be arranged on how both parties can work together.
We acknowledge that the
current equipment list of the fire brigades may be sufficient for residential
areas, but may be lacking when the refinery is at full production. These issues
of local fire department concerns is not new. The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog
has posted stories similar in the past. The challenge for local governments who
want the investment and the jobs that come with it is how best to protect their
residential areas while providing assistance to industry. It is a balance that
requires both parties (e.g., local government, aluminium plant) to work
together. If they do not, a simple incident can easily become a catastrophe. We
pray that does not happen at this plant.
The Aluminium Times Magazine had
an article about how some aluminium companies that work together with local emergency
management services in training and support to make their plants and local
communities safer.
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